Dwayne Johnson's 'Lore' Lands 'Echo' Director (Exclusive)

Barry Sonnenfeld was previously on board to direct the "Men in Black"-like adaptation of an IDW comic.

In a major move for a neophyte director, David Green is going from a low-budget movie that almost didn’t see a release to potentially working on a big studio tentpole.

Green made his directorial debut making a low budget sci-fi movie for Disney title Echo. But the project, with a budget in the $5 million range, sat on the shelf as Disney pondered how to open it before eventually selling it to Relativity.

Now Green has closed a deal to helm Lore, an adaptation of an IDW book/graphic novel written by Wood and T.P. Louise that has Dwayne Johnson attached to star, pending scheduling.

The sci-fi actioner, with a script by Cory Goodman and Jeremy Lott, tells of a secret society of shepherds (they herd monsters) that has long held the line on the encroachment of mythological creatures, and when the succession line is broken in modern days, a woman finds herself shouldering the responsibility to stop the creatures' return.

Warner picked it up in April of 2012, and, by September, was negotiating with Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld. Sonnenfeld and the studio couldn’t agree on a budget so Sonnenfeld stepped off (but will receive an executive producer credit).

Mad Chance's Andrew Lazar is producing along with Circle of Confusion's David Alpert and Rick Jacobs.Ted Adams and Ashley Wood are executive producing with Sonnenfeld. Adam Goldworm is co-producing.

Sarah Schechter and Andrew Fischel areoverseeing for the studio.

Echo, which tells of teens who receive mysterious messages on their cell phones, has a Jan. 10, 2014 release date.